The Opening Faceoff: The Ferris State University men's ice hockey team will faceoff against the Michigan Wolverines this week (Oct. 27-28) in a Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) road series between the two top 10 nationally-ranked teams. The two-game series gets underway this Thursday (Oct. 27) at the Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich., and will conclude on Friday (Oct. 28). Both contests have 7:35 p.m. (EDT) slated start times. Thursday's contest will air on Comcast Television.

2011-12 Bulldog Hockey Ticket Information: Tickets for all 2011-12 Bulldog home regular-season hockey games can be purchased by contacting the FSU Athletics Ticket Office at (231) 591-2888. The FSU Athletics Ticket Office's normal hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ET) weekdays. The ticket office will also offer extended hours until 7 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday's throughout the season and be open on hockey home game Saturday's at 12 p.m. (ET).

Single-game tickets may also be purchased by contacting Star Tickets at 1-800-585-3737 or online at Star Tickets website: www.startickets.com. Tickets are also available at all Meijer store locations in West Michigan and at the Student Services Office in the FSU Rankin Student Center.

On TV: This Thursday's (Oct. 27) series opener against Michigan will be carried by Comcast Television and is available on selected cable systems throughout the state on channel 900.

Media Coverage: A live video and audio webcast will be available for all 2011-12 FSU men's ice hockey home games through Stretch Internet for a charge of $7.95 on FSU's Athletics Website at www. FerrisStateBulldogs.com. Live internet statistics will also be available for all Bulldog home contests with a live audio stream for all home and away games.

The Records: Ferris State is presently 6-0-0 overall and 2-0-0-(0) in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) this season. FSU is tied with Ohio State for second in the CCHA standings with both the Buckeyes and the first-place team (Lake Superior State) having already played four league games. The Bulldogs swept past Miami (Ohio) this past weekend (Oct. 21-22) as both squads opened conference play. FSU posted a 4-2 victory in Friday's contest before posting a 2-0 shutout on Saturday. Ferris State is currently 4-0 at home and 2-0 on the road this year.

Michigan currently holds a 4-1-1 overall record and is 0-1-1 in conference play. Last weekend (Oct. 21-22), the Wolverines traveled to Marquette, Mich., to take on the Northern Michigan Wildcats. After dropping a 5-3 contest on Friday, the Wolverines won in a shootout on Saturday following a 3-3 overtime tie.

The Coaches: Ferris State - Bob Daniels (Michigan State, 1982), 20th season, 314-350-74 (.476) – (12-39-3 vs. Michigan - 4-24-0 away, 8-13-2 home and 0-2-1 neutral). Daniels has the distinction of being the all-time winningest coach in Ferris State history. He was honored as the 2002-03 CCHA Coach of the Year and the Inside College Hockey (INCH) Coach of the Year, but the crowing highlight of his coaching career was being chosen as the recipient of the 2003 Spencer Penrose Award as the ACHA's Division I National Hockey Coach of the Year. He was among three finalists for both the 2007-08 and 2009-10 CCHA Coach of the Year Awards.

Michigan – Red Berenson (Michigan, 1962), 28th season, 732-341-74 (.672) - (61-23-3 vs. Ferris State). Berenson is UM's all-time winningest coach and currently ranks sixth on college hockey's coaching wins list. Berenson is one of five head coaches in college hockey history to compile 700 wins. He's a two-time (1994 and 2008) CCHA Coach of the Year Award recipient and the 2007-08 winner of the Spencer Penrose Award as the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Division I Coach of the Year. Berenson played in the National Hockey League for 17 years as a member of the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, and St. Louis Blues and scored at least 20 goals in seven NHL seasons.

Scouting the Wolverines: Despite suffering its first loss of the season last week, Michigan began the year with a 4-0-0 record for the first time since 2005-06. It was the best start for U-M since 1996-97. The Wolverines have 16 returning players, including senior goaltender Shawn Hunwick, who brought the team to the NCAA Frozen Four tournament finals in the 2010-11 season as UM made its 21st consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.

The All-Time Series: Ferris State and Michigan will square off for the 98th and 99th times in a series in which the Wolverines have the 65-28-4 edge. FSU is 10-39-0 on the road, 18-24-3 at home, and 0-2-1 at neutral sites versus Michigan. Last season, the Bulldogs went 0-3-1 against the Wolverines. FSU managed to win a shootout against Michigan on Oct. 29 in a contest played in Big Rapids. Twelve of the last 24 meetings have been decided by one goal or less and Ferris State sports a 6-5-2 mark in those encounters.

Top Ten: The Bulldogs are currently ranked in the national top 10 of all three primary college hockey polls. Ferris State climbed eight spots from 14th to sixth in this week's U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) NCAA Division I poll with 660 votes, including one first place vote. After being unranked in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll last week, the Bulldogs jumped to the number seven spot with 279 votes. FSU rose from the bottom 20th spot to cracking the top 10 with a ninth-place ranking in the Inside College Hockey.com (INCH) poll. The sixth-place national ranking in the USCHO poll is the program's highest since also being ranked sixth on Jan. 11, 2010.

The Standings: Ferris State currently leads the country in team defense and has only allowed .83 goals per game. FSU ranks tied for 14th in team offense by scoring an average of 3.50 goals a game. The Bulldogs are number two in the country behind Robert Morris on the penalty kill as FSU has killed off 27-of-28 penalties on the year.

No Place Like Home: The Bulldogs have compiled a 107-71-24 record (.581) at home since the 2000-01 campaign. FSU has reached double-figure home win totals in a season on four occasions, which includes 15 victories in the 2002-03 (15-4-1) and 2009-10 (15-3-2) campaigns.

Players Of the Week: The CCHA tabbed senior defender Chad Billins (Marysville) as this week's league Defenseman of the Week and freshman goaltender CJ Motte (St.Clair) as its Goaltender of the Week. Billins tallied one assist in last Friday's 4-2 win over Miami and went on to notch two helpers in Saturday's 2-0 victory, including the game-winning assist. Billins was also part of the Bulldog penalty killing unit that went 8-for-8 in the home series sweep. This is the first time in the 2011-12 campaign Billins has been honored by the CCHA after twice receiving the weekly award last year. Billins is a current top 20 candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Motte saw action between the pipes in Saturday's game and posted his second-straight shutout of the season. On Saturday, Motte did not give up a goal while making 27 saves. He is currently the top NCAA Division I goaltender as he boasts a 3-0-0 record in 180 minutes of play. He has only allowed one power-play goal this campaign and holds an impressive .986 save percentage and a 0.33 goals against average. Motte has made 69 saves on the year. This week represents Motte's first time receiving the league weekly honor after being tabbed as a conference notable performer each of the last two weeks.

Talented Juniors: Three juniors have recorded multi-point games this season. Most recently, junior left wing Eric Alexander (Kentwood) tallied two goals and an assist in the 4-2 victory over Miami (Ohio) last Friday. In that same tilt, junior center Travis Ouellette (Windsor, Ontario) recorded two assists while increasing his season point total to a team-high eight (6-2-8). Right wing Kyle Bonis (Lindsay, Ontario) had a multi-goal game on the road against St. Lawrence, (Oct. 8) in a 5-1 victory. The junior class has scored 13 of FSU's 21 goals and recorded 11 of the 30 helpers this year as they currently account for 61.9% of the goals scored and 36.9% of assists thus far in the 2011-12 season.

Co-Captains: Senior defensemen Chad Billins (Marysville) and Tommy Hill (Portage) will serve as the Bulldogs' team co-captains in the 2011-12 campaign. They are the 40th and 41st individuals in the program's history to sport the captain's 'C' on their jersey.

Lowe's Senior CLASS Award - Senior defenseman Chad Billins (Marysville) of the Ferris State University men's ice hockey team has been chosen as a candidate for the 2011-12 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in a recent announcement. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – classroom, character, community, and competition. The 20 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists in early February and those 10 individuals will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select the finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of classroom, character, community and competition.

CCHA Preseason Polls: Ferris State was picked to finish ninth in the 2011-12 CCHA Coaches Preseason Poll with 50 points. The Bulldogs received 425 points in the media poll to place tied for seventh among the 11 conference teams. Points were awarded on a 12-11-10-9, etc., basis. League coaches ranked the CCHA teams, excluding their own school, in the order they predicted the regular season will end.

TV Exposure: Ferris State will be making a combined three national and regional appearances on television this upcoming 2011-12 season. The Bulldogs will make their TV debut on Comcast Television, which will showcase FSU on two occasions – at Michigan (10/27) and against Notre Dame at the Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids (2/11). FS Detroit (FSD) will feature the Ferris State at Western Michigan game (2/24). Ferris Television will televise multiple home outings in the first semester including: the Miami series (10-21-22), Lake Superior State (11/11), Western Michigan on two occasions (12/2, 2/25) and Notre Dame. The second semester scheduled is to be announced.

On The Internet: Ferris State University Athletics' official web site can be found at www.FerrisStateBulldogs.com. The site features information on all of FSU's varsity athletics programs including rosters, statistics, yearbooks and more.